Herbie put down due to non-operable cancer

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

LORAIN -- Three months to the day that he was found emaciated and severely injured on the tree lawn of an abandoned home in Lorain, Herbie, a 4-year-old pit bull mix, was euthanized March 1 by Dr. Thomas Wood, the Lorain veterinarian who tried valiantly to keep him alive.

On Dec. 24, Herbie was diagnosed with adenocarcinoma, a non-operable and non-responsive form of cancer.

Lorain police officer Richard Broz, who, along with Wood, had cared for Herbie during his recovery, wrote on the "Justice for Herbie" Facebook page: "These last two weeks with him were very hard on me, watching this magnificent animal begin to waste away from the dog he had become under Dr. Wood's care and my love. I did not wish to see him start to suffer. In his way, he told me yesterday that he was ready to leave us. I told Dr. Wood of my wishes and he agreed that it was time. Herbie died in my arms at approximately 2 p.m."

Broz was the officer in charge who transported Herbie to Wood, who runs the Lorain Animal Clinic.

"Actually, it was the day before Christmas when the cancer was discovered. Because of the swelling of his head, we figured it was some type of tumor. Doctor Wood had it biopsied," Broz said.

"He suffered severe emaciation, a fractured skull, his right eye was missing. As we were building him back, we found drainage coming from where his other eye was, so we took him to a specialist who did a biopsy and found the cancer was eating into his brain," Wood said.

As for having to put Herbie down, Broz said "it was better than taking a call" at home, to inform Broz the dog had died.

"It's OK. I knew this was a short-time gig. I wanted to give him a decent life, for however long it was. He responded to me; he seemed to be happy," Broz said.

As for the apprehension of the person or persons responsible for injuring Herbie, Broz said he was uncertain if they would ever be caught.

"I don't know. Can we prove it without a witness?" he asked.

Since the offense is listed as a third-degree misdemeanor, Broz said the most they could be penalized is 90 days in jail and/or a $500 fine.

Broz said the law needs to be raised to a felony and the sentence made more severe.

Herbie's story triggered a Justice for Herbie Dog Walk in Lorain on Dec. 9, to raise awareness of House Bill 108, known as Nitro's Law, that would inflict harsher penalties toward animal abusers, making it a felony conviction.

"The last three months made up for all the abuse that went on before," Wood said.

"We wanted to have him experience human kindness. For the last three months, he had a good, happy, spoiled life. I look on the bright side of this. His last three months, he was able to experience a true animal-human bond," Wood said.

"We have a staff of 24 employees that got attached to Herbie. We nursed him back to the point where he got strong enough to spend the last few weeks in hospice with Officer Broz," he said.

On a recent "roll call" on The Justice for Herbie Facebook page, Wood said "about 17,000 people, from all around the world, all the way to New Zealand, have been interested in Herbie."

"To honor his memory, I decided to match any donation, dollar for dollar, under Herbie's name, to the Wood Foundation, a 501-C3 non-profit for abused and neglected animals," Wood said.